R for Play: When Data Meets Creativity

• We often think of R as something we use for work or research.
• But what if R could also be fun, creative, and personal?
• Today, I’ll share a few of my pet projects that made my everyday life more playful.

“Play is the highest form of research.” – Neville V. Scarfe

Aim: To make decision-making around meals easier and fun while settling into a new city/culture.

• When I moved to the UK, I built a script to help me choose what to eat during the departmental dinner.
• It randomly picked meals from a list, saving time and making it fun!

What I Gained: Practical use of randomness and reproducibility in everyday life.

The description of the dataset of menu choices included:

starter: 1) Pumpkin veloute, quince. hazelnut oil; 2) Chicken liver parfait, apple, brioche; 3) Devon brown crab crumpet, piccalilli, pink grapefruit, mint

main dishes: 1) Roast turkey with all the trimmings; 2) Pollock, caulilower gratin, chicory, seaweed butter, Port, blackberry ; 3) Brased ox cheek, Boulongerer potato, carrot, bone marrow, red wine

dessert: 1) Chocolate Fondant, salted caramel ice cream, boozy cherry; 2) Vanilla creme brulee, quince; 3) Stickey pear cake, toffee

library(dplyr)
library(tibble)

# create a tibble with all the options
dinner_df <- tibble(starter = c(1, 2, 3),
                    main = c(2, 1, 3),
                    dessert = c(3, 2, 1))
set.seed(01) # to reproduce the same values for the sample
(my_dinner <- dinner_df %>% 
  dplyr::sample_n(1))

# A tibble: 1 × 3
  starter  main dessert
    <dbl> <dbl>   <dbl>
1       1     2       3

Aim: To build a small recommendation system for personal gifts, while learning how to add custom themes and fun fonts in Shiny apps.

• Experimented with {bslib} and {shinythemes} and fonts to customise the app’s look and feel.

• Learned that a little visual polish can make data apps feel more personal and joyful.

• 🎁 Gift Selector for My Lovely Partner ❤️

What I Gained: A better grasp of Shiny themes and styling, plus a playful way to combine functionality with design and yes, a few great for my partner and I too!

Aim: To express creativity and identity using R as a digital art tool.

• Designed pride flags for my home using R and {ggplot2}.

• Experimented with colours, proportions, and geometric shapes.

• Learned how art and code can beautifully overlap.

What I Gained: I discovered that most of the ideas I imagine, R can actually create, which expanded my curiosity and confidence in exploring R programming. It also deepened my appreciation for how R blends data, design, and self-expression, and gave me a joyful way to decorate my home.

Designing Pride Flag GitHub Repo

Aim: To make R accessible for on-the-go experiments.

• Installed R on my phone via Ubuntu + Termux.

• Handy for testing small code snippets anywhere!

• Example use cases:

  • Quick data summaries
  • Random number generators
  • Running simple models while watching web lectures for my MSc

What I Gained: I learned how to install and run R on my phone, which means I can quickly test commands and ideas even without having R installed locally. It gave me a real sense of freedom, knowing I can explore and experiment anywhere, anytime.

Step-by-step: Run R inside Ubuntu + Termux

Do the steps below, having installed Termux from Google Play Store

1. Update termux packages: pkg update && pkg upgrade -y

2. Install the proot-distro tool: pkg install proot-distro -y

3. Install an Ubuntu rootfs (download + expand): proot-distro install ubuntu

4. List installed distros (optional check): proot-distro list

5. Enter the Ubuntu environment: proot-distro login ubuntu. Your prompt changes from something like: u0_a123@localhost:~$ to root@localhost:~#

6. Now you are “inside” Ubuntu: use apt to install things: apt update && apt upgrade -y

7. Install R inside the Ubuntu container: apt install r-base -y

8. Test if R is installed: R --version

9. Start R: R

10. Quit R: q()

References: Installing RStudio on Termux; Installing R on Android via Termux; Qn: Installing R on Android

NOTE: This was a trial and error basis. I hope it works for you! :)

For subsequent login:

1. Enter the Ubuntu environment: proot-distro login ubuntu

2. Start R

Aim: To celebrate queer cinema and explore data storytelling through interactivity. This project was a collaboration with my rainbowR buddy Tami Martins, and together we experimented with adding features like a chatbot to share more information about each movie and used the {golem} package to better organise and structure our Shiny app.

• Built a Shiny app that lets users explore data on LGBTQ+ movies shown in UK cinemas or available on streaming.
• Users can filter by:
  • Year, genre, director, and representation type
  • IMDb rating or audience score

Visuals:

• Interactive bar plots ({ggplotly} or {plotly})
• Word clouds of film themes or directors
• Data sourced from tidyrainbow within rainbowR community

What I Gained: I learned how to quickly integrate a chatbot into Shiny, gained some confidence using {golem} for scalable app design, and appreciated how collaboration can make creative coding even more fun and rewarding.

Aim: To engage with the global R community by curating the We Are R-Ladies account, sharing resources, ideas, and projects that encourage creativity and confidence in using R. I wanted to highlight how diverse the R world can be, and spark new connections through conversation.

• I had the chance to curate WeAreRLadies, the rotating Bluesky account that features R users of minority genders from around the world.
• To prepare, I built an R Markdown file full of ideas and topics I wanted to share.
  
• Throughout the week I:
  • Explored new #TidyTuesday datasets 🎨
    
  • Shared interesting packages like {tidylog}, my wrangling co-pilot 🧭
    
  • Posted reflections on learning, creativity, and community
• What I Gained: This experience reminded me that sharing what you learn is also a form of play; it keeps curiosity alive and builds genuine connections across the R world. I also gained new perspectives from others’ journeys, discovered inspiring projects, and felt more connected to the creative, supportive spirit of the R community.